NVR and camera setup Suggestions

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and I am looking for advice on an ideal 8 camera capable NVR using POE. Initially I think I will only be using two exterior cameras and two interior cameras but would like to have room for expansion.

The building I want to install these in is very old so it is hard to run wires on exterior walls. I can most likely replace an exterior light with a camera to power it but may need to figure out a way to use WIFI to transmit the signal back, I don't want to use SD cards.

I'd like a recommendation on a very good night vision camera and also an 8 channel NVR that is capable of supporting audio as well as an NVR that doesn't so that I can gauge the price difference.

The other thing I am concerned about is keeping a live remote backup of the cameras so that if the system is compromised I have a secure copy off-site. I am a programmer by trade so I think I may be able to build a scraper to work this out however if there is software with this built in it would be a plus.

Lastly decent mobile app support and motion detection with alarms by TXT message are a huge plus for me. Amazon looks a bit pricey compared to other sites so links to suppliers or products would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance for any advice.

Welcome to the forum.
1) Dont use wifi..its will be problematic. Pay someone who knows how to run cable to properly run ethernet.
2) For good low light vision stick with 2mp cameras from hikvision and dahua...anything higher and your low light night vision is compromised, though the 4mp from hikvision is improved over their 3mp cameras. Make sure you have adequate exterior lighting.
Uploading lots of video can be a problem...you are better off simply recording to a second location in the building...either with two NVR's or if you use a pc based vms like Blue iris you can record to two locations simultaneously.

fenderman, thanks for your help. Blue Iris sounds exactly like what I was looking for, I like that I won't be boxed in by hardware and I have a few spare machines I can put it on easily. It looks as though I will be wiring ethernet next weekend for the exterior camera, I have the whole interior wired anyways. Can you recommend any suppliers for hikvision cameras? Thanks again.

jjp44343 said:

fenderman, thanks for your help. Blue Iris sounds exactly like what I was looking for, I like that I won't be boxed in by hardware and I have a few spare machines I can put it on easily. It looks as though I will be wiring ethernet next weekend for the exterior camera, I have the whole interior wired anyways. Can you recommend any suppliers for hikvision cameras? Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Note that you need modern machines to run 8 hd cameras on blue iris. You cant simply throw it on an old machine..
As far as suppliers, check out nellys security (they are a vendor here, there is a discount available to members)..Also bandh....
You can also look at suppliers via aliexpress, but note that you will not have warranty and will not be able to update firmware if you dont get an actual US region camera..note there is a significant difference between "english firmware" and US region...

Ok will try them, believe it or not I have a few 16 core SuperMicro servers laying around. I'm going to see how it runs on Server 2012 R2.